


Christmas and Happiness

by whitehorsetiger



Series: A Life Together [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Love, M/M, Smut, Sweet, only a little though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 23:42:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13111002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitehorsetiger/pseuds/whitehorsetiger
Summary: It was decided back in April, that Lance wouldn't be visiting his family for Christmas. Everyone was too busy, so they were all going for new years instead. Lance had been bummed out by this, until Keith suggested they could just have Christmas at their place with all their friends. It was a little later that month that Lance realised that spending the rest of his life with Keith sounded brilliant, so now he wouldn't just be celebrating Christmas with his friends, but his fiancé too. All in all, it was probably going to be a good Christmas.Lance and Keith and the month of December leading up to their first Christmas spent at their flat.





	Christmas and Happiness

It was decided back in April, that Lance wouldn't be visiting his family for Christmas. Everyone was too busy, so they were all going for new years instead. Lance had been bummed out by this, until Keith suggested they could just have Christmas at their place with all their friends. It was a little later that month that Lance realised that spending the rest of his life with Keith sounded brilliant, so now he wouldn't just be celebrating Christmas with his friends, but his fiancé too. All in all, it was probably going to be a good Christmas.

December did not mean that he got out of going to work, or early mornings, no matter how tempting staying in their nice warm bed was. He blindly patted down the bedside table, reluctant to remove himself from Keith's warm body. Finally he clicked it off, rolling back to press a kiss to Keith's shoulder blade. The other man had barely stirred when the alarm had sounded, simply sinking into the warmth of Lance's arms. It was so tempting, so so tempting to remain curled up in the warmth of the bed. He had work though, so ever so carefully he extracted himself from Keith's side, shivering at the cold air. Keith grumbled lightly, not awake, but still unhappy at the loss of his human heater. Lance couldn't help but smile indulgently before stepping out of the room. Blue immediately came to greet him, Red meowing from the top of the cat tree.  
"Hello my beautiful ladies, who's ready for breakfast?" he called gently.  
Red sprang down, trotting over as Lance entered the kitchen.  
"Yeah, I thought you would come over," he chuckled.

Washed, dressed, fed and with a handwritten note for Keith on the side, Lance was ready to go, well almost. He made his way back into the bedroom, watching the cats dart ahead of him. With a light chuckle, Lance made his way over to the bed. Keith had rolled over onto his front, his complete rats nest of black hair covering his face. With a smile, Lance wandered over. A knee on the bed, he lent over the other man, pulling back the curtain of hair covering his face. Pressing a kiss to the pale cheek, Lance lent back to spy a slither of open eye peeking out from dark bangs. Keith tilted his head, humming lightly. Lance chuckled, pressing a kiss to his lips as Keith sleepily reciprocated.  
"Go back to sleep kitten," Lance said softly, brushing his thumb gently over the other man's cheek.  
Like clockwork, Keith's eyes slipped back closed.  
"You only ever listen to me when you're half asleep," Lance muttered.  
Keith hummed, curling his arms around the pillow.  
"See you later," Lance chuckled.

****

"Lance!" Allura's voice shouted from the other end of the office.  
"Oh, Allura can it wait I was just about to...what are you wearing?" Lance said, snorting with laughter.  
The jumper she was wearing was horrifying, about six different clashing colours, a giant Santa on the front, tinsel and lights, actual glowing lights.  
"Do you like my Christmas jumper?" Allura smiled brightly.  
"That is the most hideous thing I have ever seen in my life, I love it," Lance grinned, "Are the lights flashing?"  
"Yeah they are!" Allura grinned, "You should see it when the lights are off!"  
"Oh my god!" Lance grinned, "I want it!"  
Allura giggled, "No way! You need to get matching ones with Keith!"  
"Believe me, I'm working on it," Lance laughed.  
"Of course you are," Allura smiled, "You never fail to please."  
"I can't go letting people down now can I?" Lance said.  
"Speaking of letting people down, aren't you supposed to be going to lunch?" Allura asked.  
Lance's eyes widen in horror, he swears loudly as he scrambles.  
"You distracted me!" he said, hurriedly winding his scarf around his neck.  
Allura shrugged, "But, my jumper."  
"It's very nice, I'll see you later!" Lance said, throwing on his coat.

With a beanie perched on his head, a large black coat and his face buried in his scarf, Keith looked adorable perched on the bench in the park. The scarf was red and black in colour and a little ragged looking, Lance had knitted it for Keith a few winters ago, it was very well loved.   
"Hey, sorry I'm late," Lance said softly, dropping a kiss on the other man's cheek, "Allura wanted to show me her Christmas jumper."  
Keith blinked owlishly at him for a moment, before his face split into a bright smile.   
"It's alright, what was it like?"  
"It was the most hideous thing I have ever seen in my life and I want it!"  
Keith laughed, clambering to his feet shivering slightly.  
"You could've met me at the cafe you know," Lance smiled, intertwining their gloved fingers.   
"I like meeting you here," Keith said, resting his head on Lance's shoulder, "It's a really nice place."  
Lance hummed as they made their way through the park, tucking their intertwined hands in his pocket. Keith's nose was looking red, even as he snuggled it into the scarf. It was adorable and made Lance want to squeal. That would've probably earned him a punch though so it wasn't worth it.

The Balmera cafe was one of Lance's favourite places, had been for years. It was family-owned and had become the traditional place where he and Keith went on these lunch dates, it was also where Hunk's girlfriend worked. She waved to them brightly as they entered, golden earrings glinting in the light.  
"The usual?" she mouthed.  
Lance nodded and smiled, mouthing back, "Thanks."  
The two of them sat by the window, where they always sat when they came here. Pidge always laughed and said they were like an old couple, with a regular cafe and regular seats in that cafe. Keith had told her to fuck off.

They shed their layers and chatted idly about their days so far. Coffee and food rapidly followed, it was only after they were tucking into their lunch that Keith brought it up.  
"Are you sure you're ok with me going away?"  
Lance sighed, they'd had this discussion many times before. Every December, Keith and Shiro would go away for two weeks, skiing. Lance was fine with it, had always been fine with it. The brothers didn't get to spend much time together just them and Keith always came back happy and bright. Ever since Lance had found out he wasn't spending Christmas with his family, Keith was hesitant about leaving him. Leaning over the table, Lance intertwined his fingers with the other man's.  
"I'll be fine, you go and have fun," he smiled.  
Keith sighed softly, squeezing their joined hands.  
"I know, but I worry."  
Lance scoffed, "Me? Hah, you don't have to worry about me, I'm always amazing."  
Keith smiled softly at him, an unbelieving smile.  
Lance sighed, "I'll be fine."  
"Alright," Keith said softly, "I'll go pay, you need to go back to work."  
Lance groaned, dropping his head back. Keith headed up to the counter as Lance layered back up, burying his face in his blue scarf.  
"I'll see you later then?" Lance said as Keith wandered back over.  
The slightly shorter man lent up, kissing Lance softly.  
"Yeah."

****

It was almost a week later, Keith was due to leave tomorrow, and Lance was wrestling with a box and his key, trying to open the door.  
"Keith! I need help!" Lance shouted, stumbling slightly as he entered.  
Blue came trotting up to meet him, meowing happily.   
"Hey beautiful," he said, almost tripping over her.  
"What on earth do you have," Keith said, looking over.  
Red was on his shoulder, but immediately walked over when she noticed the box in his arms.  
"Christmas decorations!" Lance chirruped happily.  
"What," Keith deadpanned, walking over.  
"Christmas decorations!"  
"I heard that, why?" Keith grumbled.  
"Well Allura said that seen as though we will be having Christmas at our place, we needed to decorate! She decided to give us some for this year!" Lance said brightly, "There are two more boxes in the car!"  
"You're kidding," Keith said.  
"Nope! One's a fake tree though," Lance smiled, "So I need your help!"  
Keith smiled, a long-suffering smile spreading across his face.  
"Alright," he said, rolling his eyes, "Let's do this then."

"How many things?" Keith said, shifting through one of the large boxes.  
"Well we don't have to put them all up," Lance chirruped, pulling all the bits of the Christmas tree out of the box.  
"But we're going to?" Keith smiled, pulling some tinsel out.  
"Duh!" Lance grinned.  
Keith laughed, looping the tinsel over Lance's head, using it to pull him down and connecting their lips together.  
"This place is going to look so good!" Lance said as they parted.  
"You say that, right up until Red knocks over the tree and claws everything else down," Keith scoffed, turning around.  
"Awh, you made me sad," Lance pouted.  
"Come on you dork, let's get these up before they inevitable get knocked down," Keith said, rolling his eyes.

Lance groaned as he dropped to sit beside Keith,who raised an eyebrow at him.  
"You finally done?"  
"I don't know how mama does it, I just can't get it perfect," Lancesighed, tucking his knees into his chest.  
"It loos like Christmas threw up in our living room,"Keith chuckled, "Trust me, it's great."  
He leaned over, resting against Lance's side. Lance blinked down at him, before pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.  
"Alright," he mumbled, "I guess I believe you."

Keith pinched him idly, Lance grumbled.  
"I'm going to go heat up some leftovers," Keith said, standing and stretching.  
Lance collapsed on his side on the sofa, looking up at the other man.  
"It's fine, you just lay there," Keith shook his head.  
"Ok! Thanks honey!" Lance said brightly.

Keith huffed lightly, picking up Blue and tossing her onto Lance's stomach. She dug her claws in to catch her balance, before settling down. Red jumped up alongside her, sprawling across Lance's chest.  
"And now you're stuck there," Keith grinned, before turning to the kitchen.

****

Lance flicked over to the next page, resting idly against the headboard. He was waiting idly for Keith to return from his shower, ready to curl up together. He was also getting to a good part. That was until the bathroom door swung open and the book was plucked out of his hands. Keith was lent over him, very naked and hard, a strip of fabric clutched in his hand.  
"Um," Lance said intelligently.  
Keith smirked in a much too sexy way.  
"So, seen as though I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon, we should really make the most of our time together," he growled.

"Ok," Lance said, voice cracking slightly.  
Keith laughed, dropping his book on the bedside table before moving to straddle Lance.  
"I'm going to blindfold you?" Keith said softly, holding out the cloth.  
Lance nodded, letting out a long breath as it was tied over his eyes. He felt Keith's warm hands sliding around his head, adjusting the blindfold carefully.  
"Alright?"  
Lance nodded, "Kiss me?"  
Keith chuckled, a puff of warm breath as he lent forward. It was only a light peck, before he pulled back. Lance wined, tilting his head with a pout.   
"Let me look after you?" Keith said softly.  
Lance groaned, tilting his head back.  
"But you're such a tease!"  
Keith laughed, sliding his hands over Lance's shoulders to hug him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.  
"Oh, come on," Keith whispered, breath puffing against Lance's ear.  
He nibbled lightly on the lobe, brushing his thumb over Lance's bottom lip.  
"I'm going to regret this," Lance said breathily, nodding.  
He didn't need to see to know Keith was grinning.

Lance let out a breath, clenching his hands in the sheets. He heard Keith chuckle, before a hand brushed lightly over his cheek. The bottom of his shirt was tugged up, Lance helped Keith slip it off, making the blindfold shift up his face. Keith's hands smoothed it back down, before continuing down to brush against his collarbones before skirting down to his jeans and boxers. Now completely naked, Lance felt the bed shift as Keith left it.  
"Keith?" He called out hesitantly.  
"I'm right here," Keith said softly, "Just relax."

He could hear the other man rummaging through a draw, before the bed shifted again as Keith returned.

Lance heard the clip of a top opening, before a pair of rough lips were pressed to his chest. They slipped down and down before pressing to Lance's dick, causing him to jump slightly.  
"Easy," Keith chuckled, before taking Lance back into his mouth.  
Lance groaned, relaxing back into the pillows propping up his back. He could hear soft sounds, wet slick noises that weren't just to do with Keith sucking his dick. Keith moaned, causing Lance to shudder, his hands reaching blindly forward. A hand wrapped around his wrist, guiding it forward to knot in thick hair. Lance twisted and pulled the strands, feeling Keith shudder. 

Lance didn't have much concept of time, only the feeling of Keith bringing him tantalisingly close to the edge, before moving his lips to Lance's chest. Lance couldn't help but groan, feeling Keith's rough breath against his skin, his hand slipped out of Keith's hair, gripping the sheets again.   
"Keith," Lance said softly.  
Keith moaned, long and deep and throaty. He jerked forward slightly, nuzzling the base of Lance's neck.  
"Just relax," Keith said, slightly breathless, "Let me look after you."  
Lance shuddered as one of Keith's hands lightly brushed up his dick, making only the lightest contact as they circled the head. He bucked his hips forward, but the hand was withdrawn before he could get much more contact. Lance wined, causing Keith to chuckle.  
"Patience," Keith purred softly.  
Lance pouted, before starting and yelping a little as Keith grabbed his cock suddenly, spreading cold lube across it. Keith laughed at his reaction, leaning forward to press a kiss to Lance's mouth.   
"You're adorable," he mumbled against the other man's lips.  
"You're mean," Lance grumbled back.  
Keith simply chuckled, the sheets rustling as he moved.  
"I'm the worst," he said back, before Lance's dick was enveloped in tightness and heat.

Lance enjoyed wearing a blindfold during sex, it let him simply feel the explosion of pleasure and gave a sort of mystery and surprise the the act. However, it did mean he couldn't look at Keith's completely wrecked face when his ass made contact with Lance's hip. Although he could hear his gasps followed by the long wine.  
"Oh god Lance," he bit out, hands resting on tanned shoulders.  
Lance moaned softly, "Keith."  
He could feel soft huffs of breath across his cheek as Keith began to circle his hips, the feeling of blunt nails scraping his shoulders. Lance let his head tip back, relaxing into the sensation as Keith lifted his hips and let them drop back, allowing gravity to do half the work.

Keith was wining and mewling, gasping desperately for breath. Lance knew without having to see him that he was fighting back the noises trying to slip out of his throat. Lance shifted his hips minutely with each rise of Keith's hips, trying to find the perfect angle. He knew he nailed it when Keith howled with no hope of stifling the sound. Lance grinned, snapping his hips up to meet him half way. He could feel Keith clawing up his back and shoulders, his body shaking with pleasure. Lance moaned, sliding his hand up Keith's flexing thigh, wrapping his around his dick causing him to falter slightly. They both increased their effort, Keith driving down as Lance snapped up. Pleasure pooled in his belly, burning up his spine, Lance was close. Keith dropped down, burying his face in Lance's shoulder to muffle his scream, clenching tightly and spilling warmth over Lance's hand. Growling lightly, Lance wrapped his arms around Keith, driving his hips up again and again into the other man's sex-loosened body. Keith whimpered with over-sensitivity, but allowed himself to go limp and let Lance use him. Eventually his pleasure peaked, Lance drove his hips up one last time before it washed over him as he came.

****

Keith was completely and utterly out of it, his sex-mussed hair splayed over the pillow and his face. After their round that morning, Keith had basically passed out face-down on the bed only turning his head to one side to grumble as Lance moved to lay beside him.  
"I'll make us some breakfast then," Lance chuckled, pushing back Keith's dark hair to press a kiss against his temple. 

Keith gave a sleepy mumble, not even waking up.  
"Love you too," Lance smiled, before leaving the bedroom.

Blue wove between his legs as Lance cooked them pancakes, stepping over her with the ease of experience. Red was watching him from the bar stool, occasionally placing her paw on the counter when she thought he wasn't looking. Carrying a tray with their breakfasts on, Lance bumped the bedroom door open with his hip.  
"Breakfast!" he chirruped.  
Keith groaned, rolling onto his back to blink sleepily at Lance.  
"How are you so perky?"  
"Some of us are energised after sex!" Lance grinned, wandering over to the bed.  
"Well you people are insane," Keith grumbled, wincing as he propped himself up.  
"But I made you breakfast," Lance pouted, "And I'll give you a back rub?"  
Keith rolled his eyes, "I'm not actually mad at you."  
Resting the tray over Keith's knees, Lance grinned brightly.  
"I know, I just like looking after you."  
Keith flushed, grabbing his fork as Lance slipped his own plate off the tray. Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to the pinkness on the others cheek.  
"You're adorable."  
"Shut up and eat your pancakes."

Lance cleared up the dishes as Keith hopped into the shower, returning to find him face-down on the bed in nothing but a towel. With a chuckle, Lance idly straddled Keith's backside, pressing his hands to the bottom of the other man's spine.  
"You don't have to," Keith sighed.  
"I want to," Lance said, starting a rhythmic massage.  
Keith groaned and sighed as Lance worked, humming happily as Lance worked the knots out of his muscles. Lance indulged himself for a while, smoothing his hands over the soft skin and digging into the firm muscles.  
"Good?" Lance asked as he moved to his shoulders.  
"So very," Keith said, completely limp.  
Lance hummed, flopping over Keith's body causing the breaths to leave his body.  
"Love you."  
"Love you too you dork," Keith smiled.  
"You got everything ready?"

"Yeah, I probably have enough winter clothes to last me a year," Keith sighed, "You sure you'll be alright?"  
"I'll be fine," Lance sighed, "You enjoy yourself."  
Keith hummed, "I'll call."  
Lance laughed, "You'd better! Don't forget this time."  
"Promise," Keith said.

****

Lance sighed as he opened the door to the flat, picking up Blue as she jogged over to greet him. She purred happily, padding his arm. Red seemed to have decided she would also like to greet him, hauling herself up his leg until Lance grabbed her around the belly and she could move to perch on his shoulder.   
"Looks like it's just you and me for a couple of weeks girls," he said brightly.  
He'd dropped Keith and Shiro off at the airport, figuring it was easier than the other options, it also gave him a last chance to say goodbye to Keith. Shiro had stood there awkwardly as they'd shared a goodbye kiss, clearing his throat when it had got a little too heated. Now, Lance was back home, for two weeks alone. He could wander around in his underwear! Not that he didn't do that, alright he could wander around naked! Ok, he did that sometimes too.   
"I think I need to come up with something interesting to do," Lance sighed, "Any ideas Blue?"  
She meowed, flicking her tail.  
"Now, that's just inappropriate."

****

The first week passed without incident, Lance worked then spent the rest of his time sorting out Christmas presents, wrapping Christmas presents and organising Christmas in general. Him and Hunk spent a long time organising the menu, trying to come up with something that would suit everyone. It was, unsurprisingly not easy. Him and Pidge spent a few days devising a way to stop Matt getting into the kitchen, the poor guy was so bad at cooking he only had to take one step into the room for something to go wrong. They also spent a memorable afternoon hanging up mistletoe, fake so they wouldn't poison the cats, in every conceivable place. Keith also actually remembered to call to tell him about what had happened that day. It was all going well, until the second week rolled around.

Work was hectic, it usually was but Lance was desperate to get things finished before Christmas. In short, he was spending longer and longer at the office and more and more time at home researching. He was also coming down with something, probably just a cold, but it was leaving him feeling more run-down. He was fine though, he could keep going.

A couple of days before Keith was due to come home it had just started snowing and Lance was cooking before it all came crashing down, literally. An almighty bang followed by the sound of shattering ornaments had Lance running into the living room to a fallen tree and a pale ginger streak sprinting away. Red flung herself into the bed at the top of the cat tree, crouched low.  
"Red! These are Allura's!" Lance protested.  
He picked up the fallen tree, standing it back up and taking note of the damage. Not that many of the ornaments had broken, most of the baubles had simply bounced. Gathering them all up, Lance hurriedly placed them all on the table, scrambling to put the tree back together and get the broken ornaments out of the way. It was only after he'd done this that he remembered his dinner. Swearing lightly he sprinted back to the kitchen, it was only lightly smoking.  
"Damn it," he mumbled, throwing open the window and pulling it off the heat, "Looks like it's take out tonight."

"Red! Blue! Dinner!" Lance shouted, well tried too his voice seemed to give up part way through.  
Blue come galloping, meowing and bouncing as Lance put her bowl down.  
"Red!" he yelled, before frowning, "Red?"  
He wandered around the flat, calling for the missing cat, rattling the food. She was no where around. Lance began to panic, sprinting around the flat and shouting for her.  
"Red! Red!?"  
It was when he finally circled the entire flat and back to the kitchen that Lance remembered the open window.  
"No, no, Red!" he shouted out of it, "Red! Damn it!"  
It had been a very long time since Red had last tried to get out, she seemed to have settled down. But he couldn't find her, he'd even opened all the cupboards to see if she'd gotten trapped. Sliding the window closed, Lance hurriedly threw his coat and shoes on, dialling Hunk's number.  
"Red's gone missing!"  
"What?" Hunk said, "Woah Lance what?"  
"Red's gone missing! I'm going out to look for her," he said, shuffling out of the door.

 "Oh! Ok! I'll call Pidge and we'll go looking," Hunk said.  
Lance jogged down the stairs.  
"Thank you," Lance sighed in relief.  
"It's alright, call if anything happens," Hunk said.  
"I will buddy."

Lance shivered as he wandered the streets, shouting for his missing cat. The snow was steadily getting heavier, falling down in sheets.  
"Red!" he shouted.  
He hated to think of Red out here in the cold, in the snow. He hoped she had at least found some shelter. His nose was running like crazy and his chest felt uncomfortably tight, causing him to cough roughly a few times.   
"Red!"  
His phone chimed with a familiar ring tone.  
"Any luck?" he asked.  
"No, sorry buddy," Hunk replied, "Nothing, maybe we should head back?"  
"No way, not until we find Red," Lance said.  
"Lance, you sound really rough."  
"It's just a cold."  
"You should go back inside! You're just going to make yourself worse," Hunk said.  
"Not yet," Lance said, "I can't go back yet."  
"Alright, just a little longer," Hunk said.  
Lance yelped as a car sped past, splattering slush up to his knees.  
"Lance? What happened?!" Hunk yelped.  
"Some asshole came out of no where and splashed me!"   
"Yeah you really need to go home," Hunk said.  
"Not until I find..." Lance faltered as he heard a meow, "Red?"  
Another meow from the back alley, Lance hesitantly stepped forward.  
"Red? Is that you? Hunk! I think I hear Red!"  
A very sad meow sounded from a pile of soggy cardboard boxes.  
"Red!"  
A soggy and miserable looking pale ginger cat emerged from them, soaked through.  
"Oh Red," Lance said softly, holding his arms out for her.  
She walked over, allowing Lance to scoop her up, tucking her into his coat.  
"I've got her," he said into the phone.  
"Good," Hunk said, "I'm coming over tomorrow to see if you're ok though."  
Lance opened his mouth to argue, but sneezed instead.  
"Alright, see you tomorrow."

Lance was almost back to the flat when he slipped on a patch of ice, crashing to the ground on his side. It hurt and a lot of snow went into his coat, Red yowled in alarm, digging her claws in as Lance shielded her from the fall.  
"Damn it," Lance hissed, clambering to his feet.  
His side hurt like hell and he was soaked through. Shivering almost violently, he finally made it back to the building, up the elevator and into the flat. Gently lowering Red to the floor, Lance grabbed a towel and scrubbed it over her body. Red grumbled lightly but didn't put up much more of a protest as he dried her off, leaving her spiky furred and still a little damp.  
"Sorry honey," he smiled at her.

Tossing the damp towel into the wash bin, Lance headed towards the shower, hoping to thaw out a little.

****

Lance woke up the next morning and instantly regretted it, his head was pounding and his throat like he'd gargled nails. Groaning, Lance forced himself out of bed and to the kitchen for some water. Red meowed at him from her perch on the sofa.  
"This is your fault," god, even his voice sounded like he'd been gargling nails.  
She mewed softly. Lance sighed, grabbing a glass of water before staggering to the bathroom to find some painkillers. Downing the pills and draining the water, Lance collapsed back face-down on the bed, already exhausted again. The soft sound of paws on the floor, before Blue jumped onto the bed. She padded over, curling up by his chest. She started to purr, easily relaxing Lance back to sleep.

"Lance? Buddy?" Lance jerked awake as he heard Hunk's voice.

"In here," Lance rasped.  
"Oh dude, you don't sound good," Hunk said, stepping into the room.  
"Is he infectious?" Pidge shouted from the living room.  
Lance groaned, burying his head under the pillow.  
"I feel awful," he grumbled.  
"Pidge, get him some water!" Hunk said.  
"Alright, but I'm not going in there!" she replied.  
Hunk sighed, "You're thermometer in the bathroom?"  
Lance nodded, curling up tighter under the covers. He heard Hunk leave the room, letting himself doze off for a little.  
"I'm coming in, don't cough or sneeze!" Pidge said.  
Lance grumbled, listening to her footsteps as she walked over.  
"There's water next to you," she said, before leaving, "By the way Hunk's making soup so prepare to be force-fed."

Hunk and Pidge left after a couple of hours, Hunk was a little worried at how high Lance's temperature was, so promised to check in tomorrow. Pidge promised to pick Keith and Shiro up from the airport, after Hunk said there was no way he could drive. Lance curled up, Red and Blue tucked into his chest, both of them purring. He dozed off easily after that.

****

Lance spent most of the next day sleeping, between coughing, sneezing, shivering at being too cold and stripping down from being too hot. He burrowed himself deep in the covers, burritoing himself with the hot water bottle Hunk had given him he finally managed to drift off again. The next time he woke up it was much later, he stretched slightly, before realising soft fingers were running through his hair. He looked up to a familiar face smiling lightly down at him.  
"Keith?" he croaked.  
"Hey," Keith said softly, "How are you feeling?"  
"Awful," Lance grumbled, "When did you get back?"  
"About an hour ago," Keith said, "Are you hungry? Hunk left some soup."  
Lance nodded, "I had a thing planned for when you came back."  
"Yeah?" Keith replied, "Maybe when you're better."  
"Ok," Lance said, letting his eyes slip closed.  
"Don't doze off."  
"Mmm, won't."

"You're going to get sick," Lance grumbled lightly between spoonfuls of soup.  
"No, because I'm not stupid enough to go out in the snow with a cold and make it worse," Keith replied, resting his hand on Lance's forehead.  
Lance turned away, placing the bowl of soup on the bedside table. It was still half full but he couldn't eat anymore. Keith frowned, helping Lance readjust the covers as he shuffled back into his burrito.  
"You alright?" he asked softly.  
"My head hurts," Lance grumbled, wriggling slightly.  
Keith hummed, shuffling down to lay beside his fiance. Reaching over, he began to steadily rub at Lance's temples rhythmically. Lance hummed in pleasure at the cool feeling of his hands.  
"Love you," he croaked.  
"Love you too," Keith said softly. 

Lance bolted awake suddenly, shaking and sweating. He doubled over, hacking coughs raking his entire body. He couldn't remember the fevered nightmare that had woken him up, but tears were flowing down his face, either from the nightmare or the pain shooting through his chest as he tried to hack up a lung. A hand rested on his back, rubbing up and down with firm stroked.  
"Easy Lance, deep breaths, easy," Keith said softly.  
Lance tried to gasp for breath, fighting against the coughs.  
"Come on Lance," Keith sounded tense, not sure how to help Lance out of his coughing fit.  
Eventually he managed to calm his breathing, slumping against Keith's chest. Lance sniffled lightly, rubbing his ribs trying to ease the strain.   
"Lance?"  
"My ribs hurt."  
"I'm not surprised," Keith sighed, "Come on, lets lay down."  
Keith eased them down onto the bed, brushing his hands over Lance's ribs. Reaching up with his other hand, Keith brushed his thumb over Lance's eyelids to wipe away his tears.   
"Try to get some sleep," he said softly, "Please, you'll feel better."  
Lance curled up against him, squeesing his eyes closed and breathing deeply. Keith wrapped the other in his arms, humming lightly to help him doze off.  


****

Lance felt appalling over the next few days, but steadily felt better and better. By the time Christmas rolled around, he woke up with only a mild headache. He woke up alone though. Rolling out of bed, he padded to the living room to try and find Keith.  
"Merry Christmas Lance!"  
Lance froze in the doorway of their bedroom, looking out over everyone in the living room and kitchen. Hunk and Shay waved from the kitchen, Shiro perched on the bar stool and leaning on the counter, Pidge was perched on the sofa, a broom in her hands. Matt was sat in the chair as far away from the kitchen as physically possible, Allura in the other one.   
"Where's your Christmas jumper?" Pidge accused idly, jabbing Matt with the broom.  
"Ow! I'm as far away as I can get!" Matt protested, rubbing his ribs.  
"Yeah, um I'll go get it," Lance grinned.  
"Shower too, you look disgusting," Keith shouted, peering around from the kitchen.  
"Gee, thanks, it's not like I've been sick or anything," Lance rolled his eyes, padding back to the bedroom to grab clothes before heading to the bathroom.

"Get your ass in here! We're watching home alone!" Pidge shouted the second Lance stepped out of the bathroom.  
"Yay!" Lance said brightly, dropping to the other side of the sofa.  
"Can you guys see it from the kitchen?" Allura asked.  
"Yeah, no problem," Hunk said, giving them a thumbs up.  
"I can't," Matt said, he seemed to have been chased even further from the kitchen.  
"I don't know," Pidge narrowed her eyes, "I don't know if I can trust you getting closer."  
"Even if I move a couple of feet closer I can't touch anything!"  
"We both know that doesn't matter."  
"Let him watch the movie Pidge," Shiro sighed.  
"Alright, but if Christmas dinner is ruined it's on you," Pidge said.  
"No way, if anything bad happens, it's going to be Keith's fault," Shiro nodded.  
"Hey!" Keith protested from the kitchen, his hand reaching through to punch Shiro on the shoulder.  
Lance rolled his eyes, settling back into the sofa, curling up under the blanket he's brought from the bedroom.

Dinner was obviously amazing, even with Keith cooking and Matt closer to the kitchen than Pidge was comfortable with. That comment earned him a punch on the arm. They eventually retired to the living room, stuffed and happy. Keith rested by the arm of the sofa, Lance sprawled over his chest, feet over Pidge's lap a blanket covering them up. Allura and Shiro had claimed the armchairs, Matt and Hunk were on the floor. They were watching elf, well the others were watching elf, Lance was dozing off. His eyes were slipping closed, Keith rhythmically massaging his side was not helping. He was happy, warm and safe in the arms of his fiance though, so dozing off seemed like a brilliant idea. Keith lent forward slightly.  
"Love you," he mumbled softly in Lance's ear.  
"Love you too kitten," Lance muttered back, eyes finally slipping closed.

**Author's Note:**

> Between going away for Christmas and my laptop completely breaking, finding time to post this has been flipping impossible!
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed this slightly early Christmas fic!


End file.
